DALLAS (FWAA) – The Southeastern and Big 12 conferences
dominated the 40-man 2009 Outland Trophy Watch List that
was released today and featured on ESPN's "College Football Live." The
SEC placed 10 players on the list and the Big 12 had nine, with
no other conference having more than four players on the prestigious
list.

Every
Division I Bowl subdivision conference, along with Notre Dame, had
at least one player on the annual list, which includes only interior
linemen – tackles, guards and centers on both sides of the ball.
Alabama defensive tackle Terrence Cody is the only player on the
list who was on the FWAA's 2008 All-America Team.

Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12; Florida, Georgia and Alabama
from the SEC; USC from the Pac-10; and Penn State from the Big
Ten
each had two players on the list.

In early October, the FWAA will consider other players for the
2009 Outland Trophy Watch List when most teams have completed four
games of play. Sports Information Directors will be asked to contact
their conference's representative on the 2009 All-America Committee
and copy the FWAA office with the nominated player.

The Outland Trophy, presented annually since 1946, is the third
oldest award in major college football. The winner of the Outland
Trophy, named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman
at Penn and Kansas at the turn of the century, will be announced
on the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show on Dec. 10
in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The Outland Trophy presentation banquet, sponsored by the Greater
Omaha Sports Committee, will be held on Jan. 14 in Omaha, Neb.

2009 OUTLAND TROPHY
PRESEASON WATCH LIST

Jon
Asamoah, Illinois, G

Kristofer O'Dowd, USC, C

Geno
Atkins, Georgia, DT

Jared
Odrick, Penn State, DT

Zane
Beadles, Utah, OL

Vince
Oghobaase, Duke, DT

Ciron
Black, LSU , OT

Russell Okung, Oklahoma State, OT

Bryan
Bulaga, Iowa, OT

Jeff
Owens, Georgia, DT

Jeff
Byers, USC, G

Mike
Pouncey, Florida, OL

Brandon Carter, Texas Tech, G

Maurkice Pouncey, Florida, C

Nick
Charles, Air Force, G

Brian
Price, UCLA, DT

Terrence Cody, Alabama, DT

Sergio
Render, Virginia Tech, G

Anthony Davis, Rutgers, OT

Boo
Robinson, Wake Forest, NG

Chris
Fisher, Louisiana-Lafayette, C

Malcolm Sheppard, Arkansas, DT

Kurtis
Gregory, Missouri, G

D'Anthony Smith, Louisiana Tech, DT

Chris
Hall, Texas, C

Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, DT

Mike
Iupati, Idaho, OL

Matt
Tennant, Boston College, C

John
Jerry, Ole Miss, OT

Torrell Troup, UCF, DT

Mike
Johnson, Alabama, OL

Adam
Ulatoski, Texas, OT

Arthur
Jones, Syracuse, DT

J.D.
Walton, Baylor, C

Gerald
McCoy, Oklahoma, DT

Trent
Williams, Oklahoma, OT

Josh
McNeil, Tennessee, C

Stefen
Wisniewski, Penn State, C

Andre
Neblett, Temple, NT

Sam
Young, Notre Dame, OT

Tackles,
guards and centers are eligible for consideration
Candidates may be added or removed during the season

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization
founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,100 men and women who cover college football
for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists,
as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works
to govern areas that include gameday operations, major awards and its annual All-America
team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve
Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com or 972-713-6198.

The Outland Trophy is a member of the National College
Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in
1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect,
preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the
game's predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism
and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards
and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information,
visit the association's official website,
ncfaa.org.